Kiruna vs QuickTime Player

Free, already installed, and it hands you exactly what the screen did.

QuickTime is the honest baseline. It is on every Mac, it records the screen without fuss, and it will never make that recording look designed. If a raw capture is all you need, you already have the right tool and you can close this page.

Kiruna

macOS 15 or later, Universal

Free tier, or one payment for Lifetime

QuickTime Player

macOS

Free with macOS

FeatureKirunaQuickTime Player
Automatic camera path that zooms to clicksKiruna: YesQuickTime Player: No
Backdrops with padding, corners and shadowKiruna: YesQuickTime Player: No
Captions from your narrationKiruna: YesQuickTime Player: No
Webcam overlay on a screen recordingKiruna: YesQuickTime Player: No
Keystrokes drawn on screenKiruna: YesQuickTime Player: No
Vertical and square output from one takeKiruna: YesQuickTime Player: No
Pick an export resolutionKiruna: YesQuickTime Player: No
Trim the ends of a clipKiruna: YesQuickTime Player: Yes
Costs nothingKiruna's free tier exports 1080p with a small watermarkKiruna: PartlyPartlyQuickTime Player: Yes

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

When QuickTime Player is the better pick

  • You need a plain capture right now and nothing more.
  • You are recording something you will edit elsewhere anyway.
  • You do not want to install anything.

Try it against your own take

Record something you already made a video of, and compare the two side by side.

Checked on 26 July 2026 against support.apple.com. Prices and features change, and we would rather fix a mistake than keep it: if something here is out of date, tell us at hello@kiruna.app.